North America wins vote to host 2026 World Cup

The United States, along with Mexico and Canada, will show a united front, at least when it comes to soccer.

The three countries have been awarded the 2026 World Cup.

It defeated Morocco, and this will be the second time that the World Cup has been held on the continent, The Telegraph reported. The first was in 1994.

This was the first vote after the controversial decision to give the 2018 finals to Russia and the following finals, scheduled for 2022 to Qatar, The Guardian reported. England was stronger on paper, but an investigation of the vote showed corruption that included bribery and vote-swapping and led to the executive committee losing the right to choose the finals site, The Telegraph reported.

In Wednesday’s vote, the United bid won with 134 votes, beating out Morocco’s 65 votes.

The three nations will all co-host the 2026 World Cup, naming 23 cities in the bid. The list of potential city hosts will be cut to 16 “official host cities” by June 2021. That list is expected to include at least 10 U.S. cities, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Both teams and matches will increase in the United games with 48 teams, up from this year’s 32, and 80 matches, an increase from the current 64, the AJC reported.

The finals are expected to happen at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the AJC reported.